Shoe



June 10, 1930. E. B. WARD ,7 2

SHOE

Filed oct. 19, 1929 I J- l/ I Blybbilvmk 73 INVEN z wc /fln ATTORNEY.

Patented June 1%, 1930 earner orrrcs EUGENE IB. WARD, OF WEST SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS sHon Application filed October 19, 1929. Serial No. 400,846.

ing it to operate and which in itself is oper able by the flexing of the shoe as in walking.

Numerous other objects and advantages will be observed from the following description of the invention, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein 29 Fig. 1' is a side elevational View of a shoe having the novel features of the invention incorporated therein,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view on a larger scale showing certain features of the invention,

Fig. 3 is a small scale perspective diagrammatic view showing the novel features of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line H of 30 Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a section through the side of the shoe taken on the line 5--5 of Fig. 1.

The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

35 A shoe is represented at S which has as usual a sole 2, upper 1 and heel 5. The up per is usually made of inner and outer plies 6 and 8 of pliable material such as leather or the like and is of course more or less flexible. A counter 7 of relatively stiff material is disposed between the plies of the upper at the heel portion for stiffness. The portion of the upper above the counter, which is pliable or flexible for fitting around the 'heel. for many reasons is prone to slip on the heel. To prevent this slipping of the heel of the shoe relative to the heel of the wearer when the heel is raised in taking a step it is desired to press this pliable por- :tion of the upper against the heel.

The sole of the shoe is pliable so that it is flexed when a wearer lifts the heel and it is proposed as one novel feature of the invention to take advantage of this flexing or bending to actuate the means provided for press- 55" ing the pliable portion of the upper against the heel.

To that end the following is provided; A plate 10 overlies the sole and extends forwardly from the heel portion. Its forward (531 end is preferably disposed so as to overlie the flexing point of the sole as well as to underlie the metatarsal heads of the foot of the wearer. Its forward end may be upturned orenlarged to provide a support for the metatarsal heads of the foot which is desirable. T'his'plate may be of thin metal or other material which is more or less stiff but yet adapted to allowthe sole to function in the normal way and may be secured to the sole by any well known means to hold it against displacement. vA member 12 which may be called a lever member is provided which is disposed forwardly of the member A 10 and is hinged thereto; Preferably the members 10and 12 are hinged together in some suitablemanner at their upper edges.

In this way as the wearer of the shoe raises the heel in walking the sole is flexed so that the members 10 and 12 move or swing relative to one another or open at their adjacent lower parts. By this movement the forward side of the member 12 moves forwardly, slightly relative to the sole 2 and plate 10. I

This movement is employed to actuate the i meansfor contracting the upper or for pressin it against the heel which means will now be described.

A tension member 14 is provided which is p in the form of a loop and extends inter mediate its ends between theplies of the upper around the sides and rear of the heel por tion of the shoe. The side ends of the loop extend downwardly between the plies of the upper and beneath the plate 10 and lever member 12 and have their extremities extendingupwardly through openings 13 in the lever member; The lower sides of the plate may be provided with channels 15 as shown in Fig. 4 to allow the loop member to slide therein. The ends of the loop member may be knotted at the upper side of the member 12 so as to anchor the loop ends to this lever member or of course the loop may be secured thereto in any other suitable manner.

The loop member is preie ably made from some pliable or bendable material such as cord or wire though preferably of material whi h will not stretch appreciably, The plies of the upper may be stitched together at opposite sides of the loop member as is indicated by 18 to form a passageway or channel for the loop member in order to locate it with relation to the pliable upper materials and yet p rmit it to move relative to the channel thus formed.

The length of the loop is preferably such that with the heel of the snoe resting flat on the ground as in Fig. 1 it is under no particular strain. the shoe When the heel O1 is raised from the ground however and the sole is flexed in the usual way as it will be when the wearer takes a step, the ends of the loop are pulled forwardly. This is caused by the forward movement of the lever member 12 with respect to the sole and plate 10 as the sole is flexed. As the ends of the loop are pulled forwardly the portions thereof around the heel of the shoe are also pulled forwardly. In this way the loop is caused to press or contract the pliable portion of the upper above the counter against the heel of the wearer so as to prevent a slipping of the heel relative to the foot when the heel is elevated. An inner sole 9 may be disposed above the sole 2 in the usual way and overlies the members 10 and 12 to allow the desired relative movements thereof.

As will be seen when the heel is elevated the sole of the shoe is flexed so that a relative movement of the members 10 and 12 takes place. This causes the loop to be acted upon which acts upon the flexible part of the shoe to cause it to embrace the heel and overcome a slipping tendency.

The members 10 and 12 may be hingedly connected in various ways, or if desired a single member may be employed which is constructcd to form a part movable as a wearer of the shoe walks.

Many changes may be made in the structure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, therefore, I prefer to be limited, if at all, by the following claims rather than by the foregoing description.

.Vhat I claim is:

1. In combination with a shoe having a sole and an upper, means for contracting a part of said upper comprising, a member associated with said. sole which is moved with respect thereto the sole is flexed, and a member operable thereby which is associated with said upper for contracting the same about the heel of a wearer.

2. A shoe comprising in combination, a sole and an upper for embracing the foot of a wearer, a member associated with said sole which is moved with respect thereto as the sole is flexed, and a member associated with said upper which is connected to and operable by said first named member for pressing said upper against the heel of a wearer.

3. A shoe comprising in combination, a sole and an upper for embracing the heel of a wearer, a member associated with said sole and movable by a flexing thereof, and a loop m mber extending in said upper which is connected to and operable by said member for pressing said upper about the heel or" a wearer.

4. A shoe comprising in combination, a sole and an upper for embracing the heel of a wearer, a plate associated with said sole having a lever member pivoted thereto and disposed at a flexing pointof said sole whereby the lever is moved relative to said plate and sole as the sole is flexed, and a loop member extending around said upper having its opposite ends secured to said lever member whereby it is moved to press said upper about the foot of a wearer as the sole is flexed.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

EUGENE B. WARD. 

